Sinner deflates dream of any Paris miracle

Jannik Sinner is making absolutely no promises as the world No. 1 works to recover his best form after crashing to defeat five days ago in the Rome final.

The top seed when play in Paris begins on Sunday at the French Open said that his tennis needs work if he is to make an impression on the clay of Roland Garros.

He faces a first round with Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, whom he has defeated in two of three matches, the last played three years ago in Sydney.

After his Foro Italico finals loss to Carlos Alcaraz, the Italian from the German-speaking north knows there is work still to be done.

“In Rome we had some stats: some were good, some were not where I want to be,” he said

“That’s exactly how I felt on court, there is a lot of room to improve. Hopefully we are on time to make small changes for here.”

But he warned: “There are no miracles, no?  I need some time. 

“Matches are different than practice sessions. But we are working hard, trying to reach the physical level I would like and how I would like to feel on court. 

“Best-of-five sets is going to be a great test for me, trying to understand where I am. Yeah, let’s see how my body will respond here.”

While receiving cheering crowd support last week in his homeland, Sinner knows that playing a Frenchman will present a different scenario here.

“It’s definitely going to be different. But I don’t think they have something against me. It’s right that they support the players who are from here, who are local here. 

“It’s the same when I play against American at the US Open, it’s normal. I got an amazing atmosphere in Rome because I’m Italian. 

“It’s right that the player who play in this city or country, that they get more support. Last year I played also against some French players here. So I know a little bit of what to expect.”